My 20th Book Birthday is Here!

Today I have many things to be thankful for: my husband of nearly forty-five years, my two children and their spouses, my five wonderful, fun grandchildren, a warm home to live in, food to eat, friends to enjoy, and so many more.

Today I'm also thankful for my twentieth book release. I find it hard to believe I've written that many books - well, actually I've written more than that, but this is my twentieth published book, with many more to come.

"Missing My Heart" is a Chandler County Mystery set in fictional Chandlerville and Bourbonville, Kentucky. I came up with the story idea when, about thirty years ago, I was vacuuming my living room. When my grandmother had died, I got this metal horse that had been my grandfather's. It

was sitting on an end table. Somehow the vacuum cord got tangled up. I snapped it to straighten it out and knocked over the horse sending it to the floor. The saddle came off, something I didn't know would happen. A bunch of sawdust came out.

It took about five seconds to come with the idea of, instead of sawdust, notes fell out. Mysterious notes. The heroine, Ellie Farrell, in my story would have to solve the mystery of the notes. This idea, which has been stuck in my head for all this time, is finally done.

Blurb: Bourbonville, 1975

After the death of the grandmother Ellie Farrell had lived with since she was sixteen, she is tasked with the job of cleaning out the over-packed house. When Ellie begins to find love notes and money from a Burt to Randi spanning over four decades, she sets out to find out who these people are and what they have to do with her. An unexpected check for $100,000 dollars delivered to her house, ramps up the mystery – especially when death threats begin to arrive.

Patton Trullinger, an investigative reporter, comes to Chandler County to research bootleggers for a book he’s contracted for. As a Vietnam veteran, he’s dealing with PTSD. When he meets Ellie, he finds her mystery too good to pass up.

Who are Burt and Randi? Who is sending death threats? Will Ellie and Patton’s love bloom as the mystery deepens?

Here is how Ellie finds the notes:

The vacuum cleaner roared, overpowering Eleanore Farrell’s confusing thoughts. Shaped like a silver bullet, heavy to maneuver, and loud enough to drown out the roar of a 747, Ellie figured it was built around the time of the first rocket launch. It certainly looked like something from outer space. Every week as she cleaned the house she and her grandmother had shared, Ellie had tried to convince her to replace the monstrosity. But her grandmother’s words echoed in her mind, “If isn’t broke, why replace it.”

Careful not to bump the antique furniture packed into the stuffy, pink living room, Ellie gave the too-short cord a yank, pulling it from the wall plug. The cord flipped through the air, snapping like a lion tamer’s whip. Ellie leapt over the couch to grab a priceless lamp standing helpless in the way of the wild, snake-like creature. Her foot snagged on the coffee table and with a resounding thud her grandmother’s absolute favorite treasure fell to the pink and red floral, carpeted floor.

‘The Horse.’ Not just any horse, but a heavy brass horse, complete with saddle and a chain for reins. Bright from Miranda’s weekly polishing, the horse now lay on its side, its bottom glowing in the lamplight. For the first time in her twenty-eight years of life, Ellie finally knew ‘The Horse’ was male.

She sat cross-legged on the floor, leaned over and reached out her hand, then drew back. As long as she could remember, ‘The Horse’ had been off limits. The last time she’d dared touch it, she’d been four and had been soundly whopped on her rear for her disobedience. Everyone knew you never, ever touched ‘The Horse.’